I can nearly believe that a month is almost gone!
Soon I will be off to visit with Gianna and my family in the south of
Italy which is very exciting, but I have become very close to those in my small program and do not look forward to the time when we scatter across the world again.
Speaking of sad moments, the language intensive students left this weekend.
But on to the good things that have happened! I had another cooking class, this time less professional, but still very tasty. Fiora, one of the teachers, gave us our Italian lesson while leading us through the tricks to making pizza and cantucci. Here’s a picture of me making pizza.
Also, we went to Florence. It’s such a big city! I believe I got used to the size and feeling of Siena so much that Florence was a bit overwhelming. There were tourists EVERYWHERE and I found that I didn’t feel so bad when I didn’t understand what a stranger was saying because it was fairly likely that they weren’t speaking one of the two languages that I know. J
We went to the Uffici for Italian class and Antonella, another teacher, took us around to the most amazing pieces of art and explained them for us—in Italian, of course. I couldn’t believe that I was actually seeing some of the most amazing works of humankind. I loved every second, but can’t get la sala di Botticelli (the Botticelli room) out of my head. Being at the Uffici left me feeling intoxicated and I can honestly say that this part was among the best moments of the month.
A group of us had decided to stay in Florence for the night so we strolled around. First we went to the Duomo. I can’t believe how spectacular it is on the outside, not to mention its tremendous size. The inside isn’t nearly as amazing as the Duomo of Siena (which I visited yesterday), but regardless, it’s beautiful. We moved on to the market that Florence has every Saturday. It was nice to walk through and the characters were very lively. When we were done, we walked with our purchases around the city and chanced our luck with a wild boar statue, saw the Ponte Vecchio, and ambled around what felt like the rest of the city (because we did a LOT of walking in Florence!). I’ve included some pictures of Florence.
I’m starting my last week here in the Study in Siena program. Today was my last day at the clothing distribution. It was awfully sad to leave because I have had a lot of fun, but I did enjoy the opportunity there. But for now I have to go to Italian class, so until next time!
